Jack Darling is playing second fiddle to the farewell tour of Josh J. Kennedy this season, as he has for all of his career at the West Coast Eagles. That is the lot of the centre half forward in the modern game, a position that used to dominate the game but is even more difficult to play now that zoning and defensive running by midfielders to fill holes is all the rage. Once Kennedy hangs them up, the job will only get harder for Darling as Oscar Allen will probably take a while to hit his straps in JJK's stead. His fantasy value is based on his form, which can fluctuate wildly in-season.
Jack Darling is playing second fiddle to the farewell tour of Josh J. Kennedy this season, as he has for all of his career at the West Coast Eagles. That is the lot of the centre half forward in the modern game, a position that used to dominate the game but is even more difficult to play now that zoning and defensive running by midfielders to fill holes is all the rage. Once Kennedy hangs them up, the job will only get harder for Darling as Oscar Allen will probably take a while to hit his straps in JJK's stead. His fantasy value is based on his form, which can fluctuate wildly in-season.
Song of the Darling giver
A late start to preseason for Josh J. Kennedy last year meant that Jack Darling took more responsibility for goalscoring, and he delivered an All-Australian season of 54.18 on the scoreboard including multiple goals in each of his last 11 games through September. This role actually lowered his fantasy output, however, due to dropping a mark off his averages. Darling has often had the role of clearing out of the forward line as a decoy runner to provide clean leading lanes for JJK. He still does that a fair bit, but he commands the ball himself more often nowadays and the team is better for it. He can go through big troughs and peaks in form during a season, making him a late pick at best despite his dominant demeanour.
Darling tons of May
After seven years of fantasy output at roughly the same level across his AFL career, Jack Darling jumped out of the blocks last season scoring like a premium, culminating in a gargantuan total of 15 marks and 151 fantasy point in a win over Richmond in round 9. The rest of his season was interrupted by injury, including two very early in games, before he finally put the rest the ghosts of 2015 in the grand final. If we take the first half of 2018 as Darling's new level, he should be drafted very early as there aren't many forwards who can reach 90 on a consistent basis. CHF is a position where you have to bake in some collision-based injuries for fantasy rankings, however, and there is a significant whiff of pumpkin about him when you look at how long he went at his previous rates. Anything earlier than middle rounds would be a risk.
Jack Darling has vaulted into contention for the Coleman Medal this season and also into contention for the fantasy surprise packet of 2018. In his eighth season, he has jumped well beyond what had looked like a well-established plateau of about 70 and 75 in basic and exotic scoring formats, jumping to 97 and 111 respectively. The return of Josh J. Kennedy has not slowed him down either, and his rise is not based on tackling but marks and goals, underlining how he has suddenly become targeted more often. His ownership in salary cap comps of 1-2% will surely rise.
Eagles sing Oh Darling
It's not often you get a natural progression in AFL fantasy scores of zero. Over seven years, Jack Darling has figured out how to kick a goal or so more per game than in his debut season, but he has never worked harder on his tackling as he did in 2011 and dropped to a new low again in that stat last season. Some footballers peak early, and Darling's statistical zenith was followed by a worrying smooth plateau. The Eagles loaded up on key forwards in the draft, and Adam Simpson has shown in the backline that he is not afraid to bone established players if they don't meet his KPIs. It is hard to justify picking Darling at this point.
